Alternative plan sought for Bentley property

Residents of the Four Corners area of Princeton had hoped new amendments to the planning board's subdivision rules and regulations would allow more control over a developer's proposal to build 37 houses in their neighborhood.

But the board said more opportunity for change rests in an alternative plan proposed by the Open Space Committee, and in the master plan process.

A December 27 public hearing held by the planning board to discuss the amendments drew a large group of citizens from the Gates Road, Thompson Road, and Old Colony Road section, known as Four Corners.

The residents wanted to know how the proposed amendments might protect their neighborhood from the development being proposed by Robert Gallo of Fox Hill Builders, Inc. on the former Bentley land.

"This is an effort to communicate to a developer that Princeton would like to preserve the natural landscape as much as we can and asks the developer to come to the board to discuss maintaining as much of the natural landscape as we can," said planning board member Jim Lachance.

"The rules and regulations really represent a road map for a potential developer or anyone who is going to subdivide their property even for approval-not-required [ANR] lots," said Chairman Mark Canfield. "We want to encourage early on communication. These changes, minor though they may be, will provide better dialogue between the board and the petitioner."

Planning board member Rick McCowan said the conventional rules and regulations aren't ideal for setting up a rural subdivision.

"I hope that the master plan effort will pass an open space residential design bylaw," he said. "In the meantime, the board is strongly encouraging a developer to submit a preliminary plan for a proposed subdivision as part of the amendments."

"This seems like a good step but it's a little weak at this time based on what we're facing at the Four Corners area," said Jim "Mick" Grigos. "Is a developer carte blanche able to disregard these recommendations?"

Under state law, a preliminary plan is optional, said McCowan.

"We can't do anything regarding the bylaws, but we can make changes in the rules and regulations," he said. "We did propose a residential open space bylaw about 10 years ago but it didn't pass. The master plan consultant is recommending very strongly that the town have an open space residential design bylaw. It will come up, but we're not there yet."

The master plan process has revealed that residents overwhelmingly want to retain the rural character of Princeton, said Lachance. "But our current zoning aspects don't foster that. It's extraordinarily important that if people want Princeton to have a shot at keeping the kind of development that's happening in other towns at bay, the master plan is the opportunity to do that.

"But people have to get behind [the master plan]. If it doesn't pass, you can't change the zoning. These are just internal rules and regulations for the planning board to guide the process."

Most Princeton developments are approval-notrequired lots, which the planning board has no control over, said Lachance. (Any lot with two acres and 225 feet of frontage with access off a public way is considered approval-not-required.)

"We don't have much say about development along a public way if the developer has the frontage to do it," said McCowan. "Unfortunately that's what's happening along Gates Road with the Bentley property." A builder must have access from the public way to the portion of the lot where the house is, said McCowan.

Some residents wanted to know how wetlands affect that rule.

"It's a gray area as far as wetlands go," said McCowan. "Wetlands can be replicated so it's kind of hard to deny a developer."

Some of the lots on the Bentley property have wetland along the frontage, Old Colony Road resident Paul Fortier said.

McCowan said Gallo set up a meeting with town officials because he knew the town is interested in buying the Bentley land. Gallo paid $1.5 million for the property, McCowan noted.

"He's laid out a preliminary plan to develop the property so the value has gone up dramatically, somewhere in the range of $4 million if the town wants to buy it," said McCowan.

Gallo strongly urged the town to look for funding sources to purchase the land, said McCowan. "We agreed to do that and get back to him as quickly as possible."

Nancy Ackerman of Hubbardston Road said the $4 million asking price "is doable if people put their heads together with fundraisers and get people involved. It depends on the will of the people who live around there and the people of Princeton."

Open Space Committee Chairman Jeff Richards has presented Gallo with an alternate plan for developing the property that would preserve the fields along the road and create a cluster of houses set back in the woods.

The plan calls for a cluster development with house lots accessed off common drives, McCowan said. "If that plan were used the planning board would have to waive practically every regulation we have," said McCowan. "I'm just looking for the board's conceptual support for this idea.

"The quickest way to develop the property is to lay out a bunch of ANR lots and put in as many as possible along the frontage," said McCowan. "ANR lots are typically faster to develop and get the money coming in as quickly as possible. Subdivisons take a lot longer. That's kind of the bad news. [Gallo] is moving along as fast as he can. But he is willing to listen to us and look at an alternative plan."

"We planted the seed in Gallo's mind," said Canfield. "It's the best we can hope for at this point."